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Marvel Agents of SHIELD | Deals with Our Devils // Recap Review

Mack sharpens his axe, Simmons investigates Terrigenisis, and Aida opens a portal to the other dimensions.

Coulson, Fittz, and Robbie are missing after Eli’s energy explosion, leaving the rest of SHIELD to figure out what happened to them. Feelings are mixed between believing them dead or not, pushing some of the agents to the extremes to find them. Grasping in desperation, May suggests using the Darkhold, against Mack’s wishes. Radcliffe is hesitant to use the book (taking note from the last time a mysterious magical book was opened and he ended up fighting mummies for three movies), believing it to be too much knowledge for a human mind to comprehend. Having a higher processed mind than humans, Aida offers to step up and read the book, learning how to build an inter dimensional portal, opening it with just enough time to save Coulson and Fittz.

While May and Radcliffe sort out the Darkhold, and Simmons is loaned out by Mace to Sen. Nadir to investigate an Inhuman Terrigenisis cocoon, Coulson, Fittz, and Robbie find themselves stuck between dimensions; their own, and a much darker plain of existence that pulls them further down with each moment. Coulson and Fittz do what they can do influence events with SHIELD, like compelling the idea for Aida to use the Darkhold, the Ghost Rider, not willing to be pulled back down to hell, jumps from Robbie to Mack to pursue vengeance against criminals in Eli’s employ. Daisy, taking the the Charger and a ghostly Robbie chases Mack down to stop him before he is fully consumed by the rider. Reaching out, Robbie and the Spirit of Vengeance have a face to face chat, and Robbie makes a new deal; if he leaves Mack, and helps him take down Eli, Robbie will be the Ghost Rider as long as the Spirit wants him. The Rider agrees.

“Deals with Our Devils” gives a rare chance for characters to see behind the curtain of their comrades and discover the feelings and secrets they keep from them. The split narrative, showing the story from one side, and then showing the same story from the other dimension made it feel like not a lot was happening, but the episode delivered when things did. Mack and Daisy’s car chase through LA is another in the list of exciting action scenes this season has brought with it. And their could potentially be a new romance budding on the horizon (or I’m just looking too far into it).

The biggest OMG moment comes in the form of Aida and her use of the Darkhold. Since the last episode, the other dimensional realms have been opened up in the MCU with the introduction of Doctor Strange. While no events from the film tie in with this episode, Aida’s manipulation of energy is the same that Dr. Stephen Strange learned from the Ancient one in Kamar-Taj. And in smaller detail, the effects of the other dimension were similar to that of the mirror realm. It’s doubtful that android Aida will be training to become the next Sorcerer Supreme, but it does further establish elements from the film into the greater MCU. But where did the Darkhold come from? Apparently a manual of dark magics that transition to science, could this have been one of the tomes lost from Kamar-Taj, or another sanctum around the world?